Vintage Playing Cards

Are you interested in vintage playing cards? I was not until … Well, first things first.

I recently found out about an interesting artist who worked in several fields of art. He was a musician, translator, designer, and painter. He illustrated more than a dozen books, including the one, where my research started:

La Fontaine Fables

I wanted to learn more about Frederick Colin Tilney’s life but managed to find only a few words about his education. Way more interesting was to find out he also created a deck of playing cards with characters from Shakespeare’s plays for the so-called face cards or court cards (Kings, Queens, and Jacks).

The first edition of Tilney’s Shakespearean playing cards was published in London by Swan Sonnenschein & Co Ltd. and printed by Bemrose & Sons Ltd. in 1904.

The set of cards presented here was republished by John Waddington Ltd. in 1932 and is pretty popular among collectors. Cards were regularly reprinted and when another company took over John Waddington Ltd, they kept these cards in the program with some modifications with packing and occasional additions like pocket calendars.

Anyway, Tilney didn’t just randomly choose characters from the plays, but he used the symbolism of each suit according to the characteristics of the portrayed characters. The heart, for example, is more related to emotions, the diamond to greed, the club to violence, … Each card also brings a typical quote from the play, said by the portrayed character, which can be also applicable among card players.

So if you have a friend who loves Shakespeare, you can give him or her a gift with King Lear or Lady Macbeth in slightly different roles. And there is a Joker too!

Great stuff, isn’t it?

If you are in the mood to explore more vintage cards, I have found another attractive page, this time with vintage tarock cards.

See ya!